Ingrid Michaelson, House of Blues: 6/25/2008

I am finally getting around to updating… Last Wednesday, June 25 Roger and I headed down to House of Blues for Ingrid Michaelson. Our plan was to meet up with friends for dinner then head in for the show. We ended up eating at the House of Blues restaurant for some decent Southern semi-Cajun food. After some good conversations over gumbo, we threw down some cash to pay for the meal (since the wait staff seemed to be taking forever) and headed outside for will call.

Now, Roger and I have always had problems with HOB… and this time was no exception. When we first arrived, the will call list was not even available (yet doors were open) so we went to go eat. When we returned, there was a short line for will call and a line around the block for security. Only one guy was checking bags, while another guy was making sure no one blocked the entrance to the 7-11 next door. My thought… if you had more than one person checking bags, you wouldn’t be blocking the 7-11.

Anyhow, after a half hour in line missing most of Greg Laswell‘s set… we found out that we didn’t need to stand in line since we had dinner at the HOB restaurant. What a waste of time. Already irritated, we headed in to a pretty crowded HOB. The room seemed off. The crowd was loud, even with an acoustic set. Lame people.

Roger and I had the privilege of seeing Ingrid Michaelson before at a small venue at SXSW. Unfortunately, the circumstances were off for that show too. The venue was a tent in a park, with 3 other tents with bands playing at them. The tent directly behind the stage that Ingrid was playing on was the British Indie Rock Fest. She was having trouble keeping time… but her voice was beautiful and I knew I wanted to see her again.

The show itself was good… the crowd, however, was not. The best thing about both Greg and Ingrid is that they connect with people. Even when there is 400 people in the room, you feel like you know her or feel like you could be her best friend. Many artists, famous and not so famous are disconnected with their audience to the point they make you feel small or that they are so much better than you. I love seeing bands and artists that make you feel like they are letting you into their life through music and stories.

At the end of the night, I felt satisfied. Though I still feel like I need to see her again in a proper setting… maybe the rooftop bar at the Hilton Garden Inn at SXSW?? Who knows.